Of Strange Oaths
Of Strange Oaths is a short story written for Seanan McGuire's Patreon supporters. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard… —William Shakespeare, As You Like It Author's Summary And here is our March Patreon story, a tale of love and loss and the moment where everything changes. This is when we learn why Tybalt left London. Warnings: implied violence toward animals, major character death. Plot Waiting upon a London rooftop at midnight, Tybalt meets a Raven-Man hired to bring him a message from September Torquill. He notices the Scottish origin of the man, and offers to hire him for a return job in the morning. Returning home with the message as yet unread, Tybalt scents upon the smell of feline blood and tracks it to a cat who had been tortured to death by a group of young hooligans. He notes that her tail had been cut off, though he does not know at the time that it is relevant. He buries her on the Shadow Roads and seeks out Colleen for comfort, telling her about what he had found. Colleen agrees to hold the Court for a night, while Tybalt reads over September's letter, writes a response, and catches some sleep. Weeks pass without event or response from September, the season slipping into autumn. Cailin appears from the Shadow Roads with Chalcedony, who had been attacked ferociously enough to lose an eye, and then some. Colleen runs for help, then whisks Cailin away while the Cait Sidhe healers try and fail to save Chalcedony from succumbing to her wounds. They guard the body from the Night-haunts while Tybalt fetches Bartram, Chalcedony's father. Bartram strikes Tybalt upon receiving the news of his daughter's death. Tybalt promises to find out how this happened, and leaves Bartram to his mourning. Tybalt tracks the blood trail through the Shadows to a small hovel, where he confronts the man living there and breaks the door down when it is slammed shut. He demands the children inside tell him why they attacked the young cat that Chalcedony had been. The children reveal that they are being paid by some of the gentry to kill stray cats, any they find on the streets. Tybalt threatens to kill anyone who continues to hunt cats in this manner, and flickers his human disguise to prove that all cats of London are his. The mother recognizes him as one of the Fae, and apologizes profusely. He doubles down on his warning and steps into the Shadows before them. Emerging at the court of Heydon and Lettice, Tybalt confronts them and confirms his suspicion that they had been the gentry offering the prize of a half crown for each dead cat. Lettice teases Tybalt, even as he attacks her. She scolds him for interfering in the affairs of her court, referring to the events of Quick in Quarrel. Not wishing to break the Law against killing, nor to start a war, Tybalt lets her go. He offers to leave the Court of Fogbound Cats in another's hands, if it means Lettice will stop her assault against them. Lettice swears it so, bidding Tybalt to leave London entirely. Tybalt agrees for the safety of his people. Tybalt returns to his court and bids Colleen to give Lettice hell, now that the Cait Sidhe are guaranteed by the queen's oath to come to no harm by the Divided Courts. Understanding what she must do, Colleen attacks Tybalt to eject him from the throne, leaving Cailin on the sidelines to witness Tybalt's defeat as he falls into the Shadows. Surprised to be alive, Tybalt awakens in the ship of Queen Morane, who tells him that Colleen has now taken the name of Hermeline, and that Tybalt is no longer welcome in Londinium. She takes him home, leaving England behind. Date (see Timeline) July, 1714 Characters *Tybalt *Colleen *Cailin *Chalcedony *Bartram *Lettice of Londinium *Queen Morane Mentioned only *September Torquill *Agnet *Bram Locations (see List of Faerie Kingdoms, Duchies, Realms) *Londinium *Shadow Roads Mentioned only *Armorica *Albany *Islay See also *Cait Sidhe *[[]] Category:Short Stories Category:Books Category:Patreon Stories